Comments on: truer words have rarely been spoken http://www.librarian.net/stax/1738/truer-words-have-rarely-been-spoken/ putting the rarin back in librarian since 1999 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:08:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Brian http://www.librarian.net/stax/1738/truer-words-have-rarely-been-spoken/comment-page-1/#comment-8000 Brian Fri, 05 May 2006 19:04:27 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/1738#comment-8000 We do need to put more thought into how we can help our library users get laid. (Speaking metaphorically -- in most cases -- of course.) We do need to put more thought into how we can help our library users get laid. (Speaking metaphorically — in most cases — of course.)

]]> By: Kevin Moore http://www.librarian.net/stax/1738/truer-words-have-rarely-been-spoken/comment-page-1/#comment-7994 Kevin Moore Fri, 05 May 2006 18:23:30 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/1738#comment-7994 I am probably not the first to say this, but... I recently completed a course in cataloging and discovered that I hate it. Yet I also completed a course in databases and discovered that I love it. One would think that the two would go hand-in-hand, as they are both concerned with organizing information accessibly. But then, no: cataloging is designed for a pre-RDBMS world, when there was really no other way to keep track of a book's location. And, ya know, alphabetical by author would be screwy in such a world. All props to Dewey and Cutter, et al. for attempting to make the library a saner, more accessible place. Yet it can be as user-friendly as a tax code. Whether libraries turn open source or not, they need to get more in line the relational principles outlined by Codd thirty six years ago. Granted, so should most RDBMS's. :-) I am probably not the first to say this, but… I recently completed a course in cataloging and discovered that I hate it. Yet I also completed a course in databases and discovered that I love it. One would think that the two would go hand-in-hand, as they are both concerned with organizing information accessibly.

But then, no: cataloging is designed for a pre-RDBMS world, when there was really no other way to keep track of a book’s location. And, ya know, alphabetical by author would be screwy in such a world. All props to Dewey and Cutter, et al. for attempting to make the library a saner, more accessible place. Yet it can be as user-friendly as a tax code.

Whether libraries turn open source or not, they need to get more in line the relational principles outlined by Codd thirty six years ago. Granted, so should most RDBMS’s. :-)

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